Burling, Ashby’s big regret
Team New Zealand stars Peter Burling and Glenn Ashby are disappointed they never got to show the true potential of their America’s Cup-winning boat.
The skipper and trimmer both lament that conditions during The Match against Luna Rossa in Auckland in March didn’t allow Te Rehutai to really cut loose.
The Kiwis showed great improvement in low to moderate winds to see off Luna Rossa 7-3.
But they were desperate for a day at the top end of the 21-knot wind limit to really show the radical boat’s real strength.
‘‘To see what these boats can do in 15 or 18 knots is another level again ... pretty incredible equipment,’’ Burling, with time to reflect on the latest triumph, told the just-released Last Call video produced by the regatta organisers that wraps up their official coverage.
‘‘For us, it would have been cool to have had at least one race in that upper wind strength.
‘‘I think people would have been blown away by how quick these boats do go in that wind speed, and I feel like our boat in particular was pretty strong in that 12 knots up.’’
Ashby had the same sentiments as the weather didn’t co-operate and kept the Italians, with a boat configured for the moderate winds, in the contest.
‘‘It’s probably one of the only regrets of the whole regatta, the fact that we didn’t get any decent breeze,’’ Ashby said.
‘‘For the whole America’s Cup event we were all really hoping of sailing in 15 to 20 knots ... for a day when we could really let the boats rumble and get into it.
‘‘That just didn’t happen, but I always say, you’ve got to save something for next time.’’
That top-end speed aside, Ashby felt Team New Zealand had ‘‘left nothing on the table’’ in their quest to beat the Italians, feeling their crew work was really starting to hum over the back end of The Match as they started to maximise the performance of Te
Rehutai in the given conditions.
Ashby felt Luna Rossa had proven to be a very worthy opponent, and sharing the two races each day over the first three days of the final, had ‘‘showcased how little racing we had done ... at that point of time we were still verymuch on the back foot’’.
Flight controller Blair Tuke believed the tough first half of The Match had brought the best out of Team New Zealand.
‘‘Having them there as a formidable opponent and us having to respond was exactly where we wanted to be,’’ Tuke said.
Asked to choose between winning the America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017 and defending it in Auckland four years later, Ashby struggled to separate the victories.
But Auckland 2021 will clearly have a lasting impact on Team New Zealand’s beloved Australian.
‘‘You’ve gone in as a defender, you’ve had a fantastic group, an amazing team, a really brilliantly run campaign, you’ve sailed a boat that you were part of dreaming about and putting together ... extremely special,’’ he said.
‘‘If I don’t sail another yacht ever again, you could go away feeling pretty satisfied, that’s for sure.’’